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Double Bass MY BASS JUST EXPLODED! Repair advice needed please...

#21
The crack in the bridge wing looks like it goes almost all the way through that little side piece of wood. Would it be a terrible idea to just break it the rest of the way and glue the whole thing back on? Sorry if this is a terrible suggestion, I've never had to do any DIY repairs. But if you look at how deep that crack goes (especially in the right photo), wouldn't it be tough to get glue all the way down in there?

I dunno, I'm no luthier... sorry for my ramblings.
 
#23
Silversorcerer said:
I have no idea if it's true or not. It is a story that has been circulating here for years. I'm not taking any chances, myself.

As for the validity of the story, that's not important to me. The possibility of injury is apparent. It's like a catapult with 200 lbs. of force and, depending on the TP, a half pound or so projectile. Even if all it did was give you a shiner, I would want to err on the side of caution. In this case it split a half inch thick piece of maple.
Click to expand...

Did it now?
 
#25
Marcus Johnson said:
The only time I had a tailpiece wire break, it just went WHACK, flat against the top of the bass. It didn't seem like it was headed anywhere in the direction of my head.

I did have to buy new underwear for everyone in the first coupla rows.
Click to expand...

Wow! Another narrow escape. And an advantage for the cheap seats, too. These punk tail-gut wires are a menace. If we don't wise up and figure out how to secure these things we could have OSHA in here any minute.

As far as gluing the bridge wing back together, this thread borders on the comical. Tbeers, yours is a completely reasonable approach that would just about guarantee success. Chasarms, since there is just about no way that mpoppitt is going to want to break his bridge wing off again in the future, Titebond, or another aliphatic resin glue such as Elmer's Carpenter's wood glue are, IMO, the best choices for the job. Hide glue being reversible is not really an advantage here, but if you want to be a purist or feel like you might misalign it the first time, sure, take a couple of hours and learn how to cook up some hide glue (For six months that was one of my daily chores in a picture framing shop). If you have Titebond on hand it will be faster, stronger, and just as invisible if you do a neat job. The extensive use of hide glue in luthiery is largely predicated on "reversibility", not strength. In this application strength is more important than reversibility. But there is so little difference in the end run between any of these methods that I would bow to convenience and use the more easily available and ready to use aliphatic resin, which also happens to be stronger. I'd be very tempted to do what Tbeers suggested if I had hands on it, but you can squeeze the glue up into the crack too, or you can dilute it a little with water and seep it into the crack. Looking at the photo you could probably tension it with a rubber band around the wing and the bridge top.

One other tip, avoid cyanoacrylic adhesives whenever possible. Hide glue and aliphatic resin will wash off of your fingers. Cyanoacrylate will not. In fact it might glue them together.
 
#28
When you have braded steel cable for the tailpiece, you are safe.
When you use plastic cable, there is a chance someone gets hurt, for plastic cable is somehow elastic. Besides, using plastic cable, at some points of time (at the setup and before the cable is broken), the tention of the strings may not stable.
 
#29
Allright, my lazy ass is just NOW getting around to putting my Norton Shen back together.
Got a new TP cable (thanks Brent),and glued the bridge using Titebond.

I went to put it all back together and noticed the soundpost, although still perpindicular to the top is sittng down a good 5 inches from the bridge, and that 'pad' that it's supposed(?) to sit on inside the body. I couldn't get a good pic to show it, so I hope this makes sense.

Surely it wouldn't have been set up this way on purpose? Do you remember Brent?

I fear it is time to take it to the shop (I havn't even paid it off yet!), got to have it for recording by 9/9.
 
#32
Silversorcerer said:
I have no idea if it's true or not. It is a story that has been circulating here for years. I'm not taking any chances, myself.

As for the validity of the story, that's not important to me. The possibility of injury is apparent. It's like a catapult with 200 lbs. of force and, depending on the TP, a half pound or so projectile. Even if all it did was give you a shiner, I would want to err on the side of caution. In this case it split a half inch thick piece of maple.
Click to expand...


Sounds like a good topic for Mythbusters.
 
#33
Brent Norton said:
Just to clear the air - no, as I mentioned via email, a bass would never have left my shop with the soundpost 5" south of the bridge foot. IF it fits that low in the bass and it's still in line with the treble-side foot, someone shortened the post and placed it there. Again, have you aksed the bass' previous owner about it?
Click to expand...

I didn't think it did, Brent, I just never looked to see where it was when I bought it (like I should have), as it sounded real nice. You have been EXTREMELY helpful regarding this bass, which I got second-hand. Sorry if I gave anybody the wrong impression about Norton...I'm a bit of a noob when it comes to set-up.

I do have to wonder why anybody would do that.I think something happened when the TP let go.( Bassroy, can you shed some light?)

I'm taking it to the shop tomorrow....
 

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